Telecommunication equipment uses a variety of different components. Keeping track of these individual components through the various stages of assembly and test of the equipment is a time-consuming and expensive process. Furthermore, after delivery of the equipment to the customer, there is often a need to provide information on or with the components to the customer. Component information is also needed in the repair and maintenance of the equipment in the telecommunications network. The provision, handling and storage of such component information is time consuming and costly both to the telecommunications equipment manufacturer and the customer.
The component information is usually provided in paper or electronic form and is linked to the component by means of a serial number marked on the component or on its container.
The problems associated with keeping track of individual telecommunication components are exacerbated in the case of active optoelectronic components, which are devices that are used for the generation, detection, and/or modulation of light. For example, active optoelectronic components that are used in terrestrial and/or undersea fiber optic communication are required to have high-reliability levels or low-failure rates; a typical failure rate can be less than 1000 per 109 device hours of operation. To insure such low-failure rates requires stringent control over the conditions under which the device was manufactured as well as control over the operating conditions that the device experiences. Thus the assurance of the reliability performance of optoelectronic components places a unique requirement on the component information needed. For example, there may be a need to have records of the operating conditions of a component during its functional lifetime.
When being used, typical active optoelectronic devices are restricted to operate within the bounds of a predetermined set of operational parameters. The bounds for this set of operational parameters are usually expressed as an absolute maximum and/or minimum—temperature, current, voltage etc. or any combination of these or other parameters. Thus there is an envelope of operational parameters within which the optoelectronic device can be safely used. Operation of the optoelectronic device outside the bounds of the envelope can result in catastrophic failure or it can have a harmful effect on the long-term reliability of the device. That is, operating the device outside the envelope of operational parameters, may lead to degradation in device, which is not apparent on return to the normal operating conditions of the device. Nevertheless, the life-time or reliability of the device may be shortened or decreased. Thus it is advantageous to keep a record of the operating conditions of the optoelectronic device for the purposes of identifying potentially lower reliability devices and as a means for guaranteeing the device reliability. It is also advantageous in the case of device warranties to have a record of the operating conditions in order know whether the device was used properly within its operational parameter limits. Therefore it is desired that the security of the recorded information be ensured.
Since the adverse operating conditions can occur even during the manufacture of the optoelectronic component, it is desirable to initiate the recording of the operating conditions as soon as possible in the manufacturing process. Currently, such information is recorded and stored on paper or in computer memory as for example the database of a manufacturing execution system. However, due to the complexities of the manufacturing processes and its supporting data systems, it may not be practical to keep such a record of the operating parameters. This is particularly true if the optoelectronic part is small which precludes simple methods for marking the part with an identification mark.
When the optoelectronic component is shipped to the customer for installation into a larger assembly, additional problems occur. Firstly there is no assurance that the component operational conditions will be recorded and stored by the customer. Often, the customer will ship the assembly containing the component to third party thereby making the keeping of a record of operational conditions of the component even more difficult. It is known that the customer will often resist requirements placed on them to maintain such records because of extra costs and inconvenience incurred. The primary benefit of such records is for the manufacturer who wishes to provide guarantees of reliability for their devices. Thus manufacturers would prefer a means for recording the relevant operational information and a means for storing this information that is completely transparent to the customer. That is, no requirements are placed on the customer to collect and keep information on the operational conditions of the optoelectronic device.
It is an object of this invention to provide a means for recording and storing optoelectronic component information and the operating conditions and parameters of an optoelectronic component that are relevant to component reliability.
It is a further object of this invention that the means for recording and storing the information is secure, is accessible to be read by the customer, and does not place an extra burden on the customer to monitor the optoelectronic operating conditions and to store the collected information.